ArmInfo. On September 13, the court of general jurisdiction of Yerevan, chaired by Judge Mesrop Makyan, granted the request of the lawyers of Arthur Vardanyan in the
"Armed Group" case and released him on bail in the amount of 1
million drams.

To recall, in November 2015, the NSS issued a statement stating that
an armed group was neutralized in the Nork-Marash region of Yerevan.
In the case of the "Armed Group", there are 20 accused, including
former Deputy Minister of Defense Vagan Shirkhanyan, clergyman of the
Catholic Church in Gyumri Anton Dikran Totonjyan and 17 others. Of
the 19 defendants, only Arthur Vardanyan was under arrest.

Since 2015, Vardanyan has been accused of acquiring and storing a
large quantity of weapons and ammunition in a conspiracy with a group
of persons. The group's ultimate goal, according to the prosecution,
was to seize power in Armenia.

The trial continued with interruptions of 4 years. Former judge of
the court of general jurisdiction Armen Bektashyan, who is
considering this case, was appointed as a judge of the Criminal Court
of Appeal of Armenia, and the case was transferred to the judge
Mesrop Makeyan. Arthur Vardanyan was the only defendant in this
criminal case who was detained.